Crawford County Historical Society

Founded in 1968, the Crawford County Historical Society offers a museum and a variety of programs that explore local history. The organization and its museum are housed in the former Cuba High School building, which was built in 1934 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Exhibits are located on all three floors. Highlights include a recreated kitchen, a vintage clothing display, a school room, an Osage Indian display, a military room, and a room dedicated to traveling on Route 66. The oldest artifact is 2,000-year-old vase found in the Dickinson Mounds site, which is located in Fulton County, Illinois. The Society also features a genealogy department on the second floor. Either the Civil Works Administration or the Works Progress Administration, which were "New Deal" jobs programs created by the federal government in the 1930s, provided the funds to construct the building. The building is a good example of "Ozark rock" construction with the stone laid in a "giraffe" pattern.

The high school building replaced the previous one erected in 1905, which by the early 1930s had become inadequate given recent changes to curriculum and educational policies. The federal funds were use to pay the local workers who built the school. The library was on the second floor and the music room was in the basement. The school closed in 1960 when a new building was constructed south of downtown. The property was sold to a local community leader named William Recklein, who donated it to the city.

A group of interested women led by Elsie Norton established the Crawford County Historical Society in early 1968. In the coming years, the organization grew steadily through fund raisers and other events. The Society collected historical items and records as well. They first met in the Recklein Library across the street and then moved to a commercial building and City Hall before eventually moving into the high school building.

The genealogy department contains a variety of documents including tax records, census indexes, more than 30,000 family group sheets, maps, family histories, school yearbooks, and cemetery books.

"About Us." Crawford County Historical Society. Accessed June 22, 2022. https://crawfordmomuseum.com/about-us-2/#.

Taylor, David L. "Cuba High School Annex." National Park Service - National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form. May 1, 2013. https://npgallery.nps.gov/GetAsset/98a8b9a6-6f02-4483-a644-ebd877996d5f.